Nonureva Really Surprised!

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Michael_Elliott The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940) *** (out of 4)Fun entry in the series has a young woman (Joan Perry) have her father murdered and some expensive pearls stolen so Michael Lanyard (Warren William), aka The Lone Wolf, takes the case and uncovers several bad guys all wanting the jewels. This certainly isn't going to be mistaken for a classic but I think there's enough good stuff going on here to make it worth viewing to anyone who enjoys these older mystery series. As you'd expect, William is pitch-perfect in the lead because he has no trouble playing tough and a he certainly has no issue playing laid back, cool and he can deliver a one-liner when need be. All of those years working in various pre-codes for Warner really set William up good for a series like this because he can pretty much play anything. If a scene needs charm then he can deliver. If he needs to be tough then he can deliver that. William is certainly the main reason to watch the film as he keeps it moving at a very fast pace. The supporting cast includes a nice bit by Joan Perry as the rather obnoxious daughter who can't stay out of trouble and we also get Eric Blore playing the butler. The story itself is a pretty strong one as we're given a couple mysterious to be solved. The film starts going down one track but quickly changes as a second mystery comes up. At 67-minutes the film moves at a very fast pace and keeps the viewer guessing along the way.

blanche-2 "The Lone Wolf Strikes" from 1940 is a neat entry into the Lone Wolf series starring Warren William. William is delightful as Michael Lanyard, aka The Lone Wolf. His butler is played by Eric Blore, who has a large part in this and is very funny. In this story, Lanyard is asked by a friend to find pearls that were stolen from a friend of his, who was subsequently murdered - though the murder was called an accident.Fake pearls and real pearls bounce back and forth, with William going to a gathering as Emil Gorlick, a diamond merchant. Gorlick is actually played by Montagu Love, but when William finds out that he has never met the thieves, he ties Gorlick up and impersonates him in order to re-steal the pearls.Warren William was a wonderful, relaxed actor, an old-fashioned patrician type, who found humor in roles once the silents ended. In silents, he usually played the heavy. He played Perry Mason, Sam Spade, and Philo Vance, among other parts. He continued to play the occasional heavy, but he's best known for his precode work as a meanie. He died in 1948, only 53.Very enjoyable.

sol **SPOILERS**Being strictly a second story man, before retiring form is life of crime, jewel thief Michael Lanyard, Warren Williams, get a bit over his head here becoming involved in two not one murders one of which he's the prime suspect in.Lanyard is asked by his friend Stanley Young, Addison Richards, to retrieve his clients Phillip Jordan, Roy Gordon,$100,000.00 pearl necklace that was stolen by his lady friend and, unknown to Jordan, gold digger Binnie Weldon,Astrid Allwyn. It turned out that Binnie and her boyfriend Jim Ryder,Alan Baxter, pulled a fast one on Jordan switching his necklace that was to be given to his daughter Delia, Joan Perry, as a wedding present when she was to be married.Finding out what Binnie did to him Old Man Jordan gets down to business telling her and Jim to give him back his necklace or else he'll have them arrested for grand larceny. Not using his noodle, head, Jordan tipping off Jim & Binnie to his plans ends dead up in, what's made to look like, a fiery car smash-up engineered by Tim.Getting to work on finding the stolen necklace Lanyard is hampered by Jorden's pesky and annoying daughter Delia who's always sticking her pretty nose in his business in finding her father's, which is really hers, pearl necklace. Lanyard slowly puts all the missing facts in the case together by impersonating, after tying him up in his hotel room, international jewelry fence the Prussian looking Belgium jewelry assessor and fencer Emil Gorlick, Montagu Love. Gorlick was to take, at a very handsome price, the pearl necklace off Binnie and Tim's hands and make a nice profit, as much as 75%, for himself on it.Just when you, and Lanyard, think that it's all over Stanley who Lanyard gave the necklace for safe keeping ends up being murdered with the necklace taken by this other group of crooks lead by Alberts Harland Tucker. Alberts had a plan to get Delia to fall in love and marry handsome Ralph, Robert W. Wilcox, a member of his gang. It's then when Delia gets the necklace, when she announces her engagement, Ralph being her future husband can get it off her by literally leaving her standing alone at the altar.Being the last person to see Stanley alive Lanyard is now wanted for his murder and has to work fast and double-time to prove his innocence as well as retrieve, for the second time, the stolen necklace now, after getting it back from Tim & Binnie, by the Alberts Mob.With the help of his faithful butler Jamison, Eric Blore, as well as spreading a rumor that he still has the real necklace Lanyard pulls off the impossible in getting both the police and the Alberts Mob to chase and track him down on a Hudson River Ferry. With both Alberts and the cops trapped on the New York City bound boat Lanyard can now both prove his innocence in his not murdering Stanley but also get those who did, Alberts & Co, arrested by the police. As for the necklace Lanyard tricked Alberts into thinking that he didn't have the real one where he just, by chasing Lanyard on to the ferry and getting himself and his gang arrested, handed it to him and Delia on a silver platter!

Spondonman This was William Warren's 2nd outing as Michael Lanyard the Lone Wolf with the eternal butler Eric Blore in for his 1st of many. It's another pleasant mystery-adventure, with fairly high Columbia production values and a generally light-hearted approach.Girls father is murdered and has valuable pearl necklace stolen, girl enrols Lanyard to help and they both seem keener to find the pearls than the murderers. At first anyway, when their close mutual friend is also murdered it suddenly gets serious. With many wonderful gurnings by Blore, laconic wit from William and decoration from inquisitive Joan Perry it races along to the satisfactory climax. Favourite bit: Lanyard's fond encounter with his old friend (?) Emil Gorlic (played by Montagu Love) in his hotel room. Lanyard's passion for his extensive aquarium in his living room was I'm glad to relate, short-lived, and by the way the disputed elaborate balcony from Spy Hunt is here too, again on the 1st floor this time at the house of one of the baddies.If you like the genre as I do - nice work by all concerned, if you don't - shame you wasted your time.